Air drying



AI'R DRYING Filed Jan. 29, 1940 7 rzvVz-nvroa H. A. MARTIN A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 18, 1941 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application January 29, 1940, Serial No. 316,179

7 Claims.

This invention relates to processes and apparatus for dehydrating and conditioning gas, such, ior example, as air, coke oven gas, coal gas, and the like.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a process for dehydrating gas wherein the dew-point of the gas may be .reduced materially below the temperature of the gas.

Another object is to provide a process for dehydrating gas wherein the dew-point of the gas maylbe materially lowered without reducing the temperature of the gas to a corresponding degree.

A further object is to provide a novel multistage process-tor dehydrating gas wherein dehydration and dew-point depression takes place in a plurality of stages by contact with a dehydrating solution of a diilerent concentration in each stage.

- Still anotherobject is the provision of a multistage process ior'dehydration gas by the employment of a dehydrating agent in solutions of difierent concentrations in each of the stages and wherein the used solutions are restored to their respective original concentrations by reconcentration of only a minor portion or the combined solutions.

A general object of this invention is to provide a process for dehydrating gas employing a liquid dehydrating agent whereby the size and cost of equipment for reconcentrating the dehydrating agent and the expense of operations are matefrom the gas, and, in some cases to eflecta preliminary cooling of the gas. Air entering the-first of the principal treating stages is there intimately contacted with a comparatively large volume of a relatively dilute solution of a suitable dehydrating agent. .This stage or treatment has two principal objectives: One, to remove the heat of compression or any other heat in the gas atreamso that its final temperature can be carefully con-' trolled; and two, to partially dry the air so that the next stage will function without undue heating of the'dehydrating solution due to the heat of absorption 01 the water vapor from the gas.

The gas then goes to the second and final treat ing stage, where it is intimatelycontacted with y 5 a comparatively smaller volume of a relatively highly concentrated solution or the same dehydrating agent employed in the first treating stage. Final dehydration and controloi temperature oi. the treated gas is eiiected in this stage.

These two principal treating stages are eonnected in series, so that the gas passes countercurrent to the treating solutions in the successive stages, and the treating solution leaving the final stage flows into counter-current contact withthe gas in the first treating stage and mixes with the treating solution in that stage. The resulting commingled solution is then withdrawn from the first stage and a relatively minor portion is diverted from the main stream and reconcentrated to that concentration required in the final treating stage to which it is then recycled. The remaining major portion or the commingled solution is recycled directly to the first treating stage without additional treatment. The volume and rate of diversion oi! theminor portion is regulated to such that its reconcen= .trationwill serve to remove moisture from the system at substantially the same rate at which it is absorbed from the gas in the treating stages. In this way maximum efllciency in dehydration and dew-point GGDIESSIOIL'GJOXIE with temperature control of the treated gas, is accomplished with a minimum amount 01 re-concentration as equipment and at great savings incost of such equipment and of the utilities necessary for its operation.

Generally, by the process of this invention. it is. only necessaryv to bleed-oil about 20 per cent 40 or less of the commingled treating solution for reconcentration, and the volume of highly concentrated solution employed in the final treating stage is about one-fiithoi the volume of relatively dilute solution employed in the first treating stage. I 1

The dehydrating agent which has been found to be 01 use in the proce& oi this invention is triethylene-glycol in relatively dilute and concentrated solutions in water iorthe several stages or treatment. However, many other dehydrating agents may be employed with varying degrees oi efilciency, and this invention is. not necessarily limited to the' useot triethylene-glycol. Other dehydrating agents which maybe used include in connection with the accompanying drawing;

in which the single figure is. a partially diagrammatic view of ;the apparatus employed in practicing the process of this invention.

Referring to the drawing, a contact tower comprises a scrubber section 2 in the lower portion of the tower, a primary treating section 3 located in an intermediate portion 01- the tower and a final treating section 4 located in the upper :portion of the tower. Each of the tower sections 2 and3 is filled with vapor-liquid contacting devices such as baflie trays 5. Various other wellknown forms of contacting, devices may be used successfully, such as bubble trays, wooden hurles, packing rings, and the like. Final treating section 4' is partitionedinto upper and lower portions 4a. and 4b, respectively. Upper portion 4a contains bubble trays 5a, the lowermost one of which provides the partition between the two portions of this section. Portion 4b is filled with baflle plates 5 similar in construction to those in theothe1 sections of the tower. Scrubber section 2 is connected to primary treating section 3 by means of a duct 8, which passes through a plate 1 which partitions scrubbing section 2 from the remainder of the tower. A plate 1a provided with a duct 6a partitions primary section 3 from final treating section 4, the vapors from section 3 passing upwardly through duct 6a into'portion 4b and thence through the usual vapor risers (not shown) in bubble plates 5a into and through upper portion 4a. tween sections 3 and 4 is provided through downcomer 8 and a trap 8a which traps the liquid flowing from the lowermost one of the trays 5a. From'trap 8a at least a portion of the overflow liquid is discharged through a pipe l3a, under control of a regulating valve l3b, into a pipe 28 leading to a group of sprays positioned in the upper portion of section 3 above the baflle plates therein. The tower has an inlet pipe 8 communicating with scrubber section 2, by means of which gas is admitted to the tower, and anoutlet pipe I0 communicating with upper portion 4a of final treating section 4, through a mist extractor of section 4 above plate 1a and connects to the suction of a pump 1| which has a discharge pipe 12 which connects to the shell of a conventional type of a shell-and-tube cooler 13 whence adischargepipe 14 communicates with the interior of trap 8a. Pipes 15 and 16 provide inlet and outlet connections to the tubes of cooler 13 for circulation of a suitable cooling medium therethrough.

Each of the tower sections 2 and 3,'and lower portion 4b is provided with a group of sprays l2,

Liquid communication befrom the uppermostportion of column 3|.

l3 and I4, respectively, located in the upper portions of the respective sections and adapted to discharge liquid downwardly over the baflle plates 5 of each section. Sprays I4 are connected to trap 8a which feeds liquid to this group of sprays as will be later described. Scrubber section 2 is provided with a weir l5 through which scrubbing liquid collecting in the lower portion of section 2 is withdrawn through a pipe l8 connecting to the suction of a pump H which discharges this liquid' through a pipe I8 to sprays |2 for recirculation of this liquid through section 2. A cooler In such as a conventional shell and tube cooler, is interposed in pipe l8, whereby the liquid in passage through pipe |8 may be cooled by means of a suitable cooling medium circulated through the tubes of the cooler |8a. A valved pipe18 is connected into pipe IQ for the introduction of suitable scrubbing liquid into scrubbing section 2 of the tower. A suction pipe I3, fitted with a valve 20, is connected to the lower portion of primary treating section 3 at a point just above plate 1, and leads to the suction of a pump 2 I, which has a discharge pipe 22 to which are connected branch pipes 23 and 24, fitted with valves 25 and 26,-

respectively. Branch pipe 23 is connected to the shell of a shell-and-tube type cooler 21, from which a pipe 28 leads to sprays l3. Pipes 23 and 38 provide inlet and outlet connections, respectively, for circulating cooling water from a suit.-

able supply source, not shown, through the tubes of cooler 21. Branch pipe 24 is connected into the upper portion of a reconcentrator column 3| which may be of any conventional design suitable for distilling and fractionating liquid introduced into the column through pipe 24. A conventional bubble plate column is illustrated inthe drawing, pipe 24 entering column 3| beneath some of the uppermost trays. Liquid moving through pipe 24 to column 3| passes, en route, through the shells of heat exchangers 32 and 33, arranged in series. Heating fluid is admitted to the tubes of exchanger 33 through a pipe 34 and discharged therefrom through a pipe 35 which connects to the upper portion of an accumulator 36. A pipe 31 leads from an intermediate portion of accumulator 38 to the upper portion of column 3| above the point of entry of pipe 24 and preferably just above the uppermost tray in the column. A pipe 38, connected to the bottom of accumulator 36, leads to a suitable point of disposal for the fluid conducted thereby from the accumulator. A vapor discharge pipe 33, fitted with a valve 40, leads The lower portion of column 3| is provided with the usual reboiler section 4| and a collector pan 42. A conventional reboiler 43 is connected in the usual way by means of pipes 44 and 45 to reboiler section 4|, and heating fluid is admitted through a pipe 46, 41 which connects with pipe 38. A pipe 48 conducts liquid from collector pan 42 to the tubes of heat exchanger 32, from which a pipe 49 nected to pipe 28. Valves 58 and 58 are arranged in the branches of by-pass pipe 51 and a valve 58 ing liquid therethrough.

is positioned in pipe 28 between the branches of the by-pass, whereby all or any desired portion of the fluid passing through pipe 28 may be diverted through chiller 55. Inlet and outlet pipes Sl'and 62, respectively, are connected to the shell of chiller 56 for the circulation of a suitable chill- A chiller as, similar to chiller 56, is. similarly arranged in a. by-pass 54 connected to pipe 53.

By -pass 64 is fitted with branch valves 65. and

66 and pipe 53 with a valve 61 between the branches of the by-pass, Chilling fluid is admitted to the shell of chiller 54 through a pipe.

68 and conducted therefrom through a pipe 69. A pipe 19, fitted with a valve 80, is connected into pipe 5| for introduction of treating-material into the system. I

The manner of employment of the above-described apparatus for the dehydration of air, will now be described. Air to be dehydrated is intro- .duced through inlet pipe 9 into tower I, entering removes dust and other mechanical impurities from the air. The downflowing scrubbing liquid collects'in the lower portion of section 2 and a portion thereof is continuously withdrawnby way of weir I5 through pipe, l6 by pump l1 and returned through pipe l8 to sprays l2, A portion contaminated. The withdrawn liquid is replaced of the scrubbing liquid containing the impurities removed by the scrubbing, which collects in the bottom of section 2 of the tower, may be withdrawn therefrom, either continuously or intermittently, through pipe 1 I, as this liquid becomes in the system by fresh liquid introduced through pipe 18 into the suction of pump l1. Where some preliminary cooling of the air in the scrubbing stage is found desirable, the fluid returning to sprays through cooler |8a is cooled by water or other suitable cooling. medium to remove heat picked up by the circulating scrubbing fluid from the gas.

The cleaned air from the scrubbing section of the tower next passes upwardly through duct 6 tion descending from final treating section 4; The total volume and concentration of the solution employedin section; is so regulated to at all times control the temperature of the air leaving this stage so as to require comparatively little cooling of the air in the final stage. Also, sufli- .cient dehydration is effected in section 3 so that the quantity of water vapor remaining in the air going to thefinal treating stage will not produce" such an amount of heat of absorption as to cause an undue increase in temperature of the solution in the final stage. v The air from section 3 then flows through both 'pbrtions lb-and la oi! section 4 into intimate counter-current contact. with a comparatively small volume of a highly concentrated solution of the treating agent introduced on top of bubble.

' cooling means.

' section 4 of tower I.

trays So from pipe 53; This final treating stage functions to control the final-temperature of the air and to complete its dehydration to the desired dew point. The treated air, at the desired tem-,

' or the like.

To provide the maximum cooling and denydratingefliciency in section. 'of the tower, a portion of the concentrated dehydrating agent,

which descends through trays 5a, of section 4a and is trapped in tray 8a, is discharged therefrom through sprays ll over the baifles 5 in section 6b. This liquid then collects on top of plate la from which it is withdrawn through pipe 10 by pump H, "which pumps this liquid via'pipe .12 through the cooler 13 and then returns the liquid into trap 8a, by way of pipe 14. The liquid thus being recirculated to trap 8a and sprays I4 is cooled in cooler 13 by water or other suitable The remainder of the concentrated dehydrating'solution which is caughtin trap 80. flows by gravity through pipe a into pipe 28 where it mixes with the relatively dilute solution of dehydrating agent going to sprays 13. volumes of the portions of concentrated solution sent to sprays l3 and I 4, respectively, are regulated so that the volume of solution passing through pipe I3a to sprays I3 is .equal to that being introduced into the top" of section 4a' through pipe 53. Since this material is composed of a mixture of the solution flowing down through trays 5a and that recirculated through cooler I3, its temperature can be thus controlled to aid in maintaining the most efllcient cooling and dehydrating temperature for the solution going to sprays 13 for use in primaryi treating section 3.

The commingled trlethylene-glycol solutions collect in the lower portion of section 8 above plate ,I and are withdrawn therefrom through .pipe' I! and valve 2 by pump 2| and discharged through pipe 22 into branch pipes 23 and 24. By suitable manipulation of valves 25 and 25 about 80 per cent or more of the volume of the commingled solutions is caused to flow through the shell of cooler 21, where this solution, which has become heated in treating the air, is cooled by means of cold water circulated through the tubes of the cooler by means of pipes 29 and 30. This cooled portion of the treating solution then returns through pipe 28 to sprays l3 for recirculation through treating section 3 for treatment of additional quantities of air. I

The remaining. 20 per cent or less of the used dehydrating solution flows through branch pipe 24 on to the feed plate of distilling column 3|, where it is subjected to a more or less conventional distillation and fractionation treatment to remove excess water therefrom and bring/it that relatively high concentration required in treating dilute solution passes first through the shell of- By suitable manipulation of valve I3b, the

,En route to column 3|, the i heat exchanger 32 where it is partially heated by exchange with relatively hot concentrated solution leaving the lower portion of column 3|- through pipe 48, and second through the shell of heat expipe 34. In heating the dilute dehydrating solution to flashing temperature, the steam is condensed and the resultingcondensate flows through pipe 35 into accumulator 35, whence at least a partoi this condensate is sent through pipe 31 to the upper portion of column 3| to serve as refiux to prevent the'escape of any of the dehydrating agent from the column. Any excess condensate is discharged from accumulator 36 through pipe 38 to a boiler feed tank or other suitable source of disposal. The column 3|, to-

gether with reboiler 43 and the attendant con-' motions and equipment, function in the normal manner to strip out of the dilute treating solutionsuch quantity of water as necessary to bring the solution to the desired concentration. As previously noted, the concentrated solution collects in the lower portion of column 3|, in collector pans .42, and is withdrawn therefrom through pipe l8,'whence it passes through the tubes of heat exchanger 32, and thence through pipe 48 to the suction of pump 50. From pump III the concentrated solution passes through pipe through reconcentrate the glycol solution in column 3| in order to effect the re-concentration at lower temperatures and permit the use of the exhaust steam for heating. Such a modification is well known to those skilled in the art of distillation and need not be elaborated upon here.

Ordinarily, the volume of dilute dehydrating agent, which is-circulated to sprays I3, is about five times that of the concentrated agent returned to top tray in in section I 01 the tower. The dilute solution contains about 84 to 86 percent, by weight, of triethylene-glycol, while the concentrated solution contains from 92 to 95 per cent by weight of triethylene-glycol. The concentrated dehydrating solution, of course, becomes somewhat diluted through absorption of water vapor remaining in the 'air which it contacts in the final treating section I, but remains sumciently concentrated when it mixes with the larger volume of dilute solution in the primary treating section, to maintain the concentration of the total solution contacting the air in section 3 at the desired concentration. Only as much of the mixed solution is continuously diverted to the reconcentrating equipment through branch pipe 24 as will be necessary to secure removal of water vapor in the reconcentrator at'the same rate at which it is absorbed in the dehydrating system,

and the resulting concentrated solution, then res process'of this invention, air entening the treating system at the substantially atmospheric temperature of 87 F. was washed with water in scrubbing section I, and then contacted in pri-.

triethylene-glycol solution. The air was dis charged from tower I, at about 87 F. and at a dew-point of about 30 F. contacting the. gas are cooled only slightly below atmospheric temperature by ordinary cooling water in coolers 21 and 52, and thus it will be evident that this process produces large dewpoint depressions without the use of artificial refrigeration. Dew-point depressions as great as 60 F. or more may be obtained by this process without the use of artificial refrigeration;

Where itis desired to obtain still greater dewpoint depression, one or both solutions may be refrigerated by by-passing all or part of each solution through the respective chillers Stand 63 where the solutions are chilled to the desired temperatures by circulating suitable refrigerating agents through the tubes of the chillers. Even in such a case, this process produces the maximum degree of dew-point depression with a minimum amount of refrigeration and thu provides a most'economical process-for this purpose. The dehydrating solution may be introduced Both solutions, before a into the system through pipe 19 and valve 00,."

when starting up the system or when it is desired to add make-up solution during operation of the process- Where the gas undergoing treatment is a corrosive gas, various suitable inhibitors, well known in the art, may be added to the dehydrating agent to protect against corrosion. Where the. dehydrating agent isof such a nature as to be bject to undesirable oxidation, oxidation inhibitors, many of which are well known, may alsebe added to the dehydrating solution. Where the gas contains acidic gases such as hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxides, carbon dioxide, and the like, a purifying substance, suitable forremoval of such impurities, may be added to the dehydrating solution, whereby the gas may be both dehydrated and purified in the same operation.

With regard to the preliminary scrubbing step Also the scrubbing step may be performed in a separate vessel and not in the same vessel in which the dehydrating steps are performed.

The process may be practiced under a wide range of pressures, varying from subratmospheric, where the gas to be treated is drawn through tower I by the suction of blowers, not shown, which may be connected to outlet pipe 10, to super-atmospheric pressures, where the gas 7 is'fed to inlet pipe 9 from the discharge of compressors or blowers. Similarly, the gas to be treated may enter at a wide variety of temperatures and may be treated to produce a gas of any desired final temperature and any desired dew-point, depending upon the temperature, concentration and relative volume of dehydrating solution employed,

Various modifications and alterations may be made in the method'steps of this invention and in the details and arrangements of the parts of the apparatus illustrated herein, without departing from the scope of the appended claims. What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. In the multi-stage process of dehydrating air wherein the air is intimately contacted in the earlier stages with relatively dilute solutions of triethylene glycol and in a final stage with only a relatively concentrated solution of the same material, the improvements which comprise, advancing all of said concentrated solution after use to said earlier stage and commingling it with said relatively dilute solution entering said earlier 5 stages, withdrawing the commingled solution from said earlier stages, reconcentrating a minor portion thereof at a rate sufficient to continuously remove absorbed moisture from the system, cooling the reconcentrated portion and recycling itto said final stage, and cooling the remaining major portion of said commingled solution and recycling it only to said earlier stages.

2. Apparatus for dehydrating gas comprising, a vertically arranged treating tower, a partition dividing the tower into upper and lower sections,

means for introducing gas into said lower section, means for withdrawing gas from said upper section, a plurality of vapor-liquid contact devices mounted in each of said sections, a duct providing communication between the lower and upper sections for the passage of gas therethrough, conduits for introducing treating liquids into the upper portions of each of the sections, a pipe for carrying treating liquids from said upper section into the upper portion of said lower section, a pipe for withdrawing liquid from said lower section, first and second branch pipes connected to said last mentioned pipe, said first branch pipe connecting into the one of said cond'uits which introduces treating liquid into the said lower section, cooling means interposedin said first branch pipe, means for reconcentrating the treating liquid connected to said secondbranch pipe, means for conveying reconcentrated liquid from said reconcentrating means to the one of said conduits which. introduces treating liquid into said upper portion of said upper section, and means for cooling said reconcentrated liquid prior to its entry into said upper section. '40 3. The multi-stage process of dehydrating gas which comprises, contacting the gas in a plurality oi successive stages with a liquid dehydrating agent of progressively increasing concentration, introducing relatively dilute solutions 01' said 45 agent in each of the stages except the final one, introducing a relatively concentrated solution of said agent into said final stage, advancing all of .said concentrated solution after use from said final stage to said earlier stages, withdrawing 50 used solution from each'oi said earlier stages,

cooling the withdrawn solutions andre-circulating the same to said earlier stages, diverting a minor portion of the used dilute solution from the earliest one of. said stages, concentrating said 55 minor portion to produce said relatively concenwherein the airis intimately contacted successively in earlier and intermediate stages with relatively dilute solutions of tri-ethylene glycol and in a. final stage only with a relatively concentrated solution of the same material, the im- 5 provements which comprise, advancing all of said concentrated solution after use from said final stage to said intermediate stages, advancing the solution from said intermediate stages to said earlier stages, cooling the solution in passage 10 through said intermediate stages, withdrawing the used solution from said earlier stages, continuously diverting and concentrating a minor portion of said used solution at a'rate sufiicient to I remove absorbed moisture from the system, cool- 15' ing the concentrated minor portion and recycling the same to said final stage, and cooling the 'retions, ducts in said partitions providing gas passages from one section to the next, conduits for introducing treating liquids into each of said sections, discharge means for discharging treating 30 liquids from said upper section into said intermediate section, cooling means interposed in said discharge means, a pipe for. conveying treating liquid from said intermediate section to the one of said conduits leading to said lower section, a 3

pipe for withdrawing treating liquid from said lower section, first and second branch pipes connected to said last-mentioned pipe, said first branch pipe connecting into the one of said conduits which introduces treating liquid into the 40 said lowersection,' cooling means interposedin said first branch pipe, means for reconcentrating the treating liquid connected to said second branchpipe, means for conveying reconcentrated liquid from said reconcentrating means to the one of said conduits which introduces treating liquid into said upper section, and means for cooling said reconcentrated liquid prior to its entry into said upper section.

6. A process according to claim 3 wherein said minor portion is less than about twenty percent oi the total admixed solution withdrawn from said first stage. j

'7. A process according to claim 3 wherein the dehydrating agent is a substance of the class triethylene glycol, (ii-ethylene glycol, glycerine'.

HENRY ARTHUR 

